I need to train my dog to not bark.

To be honest, my MAIN worry with the Sammy is the barking. I NEED to train it how to not bark if possible...not bark especially IF I neeed to leave him home for maximum an hour or so.

I have some VERY weird ngihbours and to make it all worse, I live in flats!

So, I'm hoping I can somehow train him how barking is a big BOO BOO when I'm not around....

I intend on taking him everywhere with us...even to work - it's no problem. BUT, sometimes simple tasks such as going to the supermarket for a half hour or so make it impossible for me to take him with me because they are obiously not allowed inside and the though of leaving him inside the car freaks me out...

If this is your first dog, I highly recommend that you try to find a place where you can learn how to train your dog obedience. Check your newspapers or white pages for a positive & reputable trainer/animal behaviourist in your area.

This website was built only to teach tricks and positive training techniques. There are negative reinforcements and corrections that when properly used can stop bad behaviours very fast. However since it is easy to apply these techniques incorrectly, I will not teach them on this website. They can really confuse your dog and create an atmosphere of fear.

However the basic principle is to never reinforce your dog for barking. Giving him attention after he barks will only make him think heâ€™s doing a good job!

My kim is a border collie x gsd. Quite intellegent too. I trained her to bark on command at the top of the stairs when she was about 9 weeks old. As she had problems getting down them she'd bark and run about like mad. When she barked i would hold my hand up, open and close it like you would with a talking sock puppet and say ' BARK' or 'speak' . If you use a clicker click and treat or just give a small titbit. Within 2 days she did it on command.

U should find that a lot of problems stop with this but also keep your dog very bussy as you go out , such as using a kong or two.

Yes it is indeed said that one can put a behavior on command, and then to never use that command to stop the behavior.

However, if I can use this as an example, I have trained my dog to touch her nose with her paw last year. I trained her for approximately one week and I haven't purposely reinforced her for it since. Ever since then, she has done it constantly for no reason, I would be watching television and she would touch her nose with her paw.

Now a look, or some kind of attention might be reinforcing her for it, but to stop a behavior like barking, I personally don't think it will work. I believe she will bark even more if you start giving her treats and try to put it on command.

I am always open to new perspectives on dog training, so I'm sure if you could tell us more about this we'd really appreciate it!

I have never had the problem but I have heard that teaching him to bark on command will take care of the problem. I do not know if there is a different idea or brain fucntion that dogs have or feel on barking vs putting the paw to nose but I know people that swear it really does work. The method is you must work on teaching the dog to bark like you are a drill sgt. Obsess on it and ride him into the ground on learning to bark on command with lots and lots of treats.
Now the hard part. When he barks without the command, ignore it , pretend it did not happen. Later in the day resume barking on command with treats, again if at another time he barks without a command ignore it again. I am told this really does work. Sorry I have not had to do that one myself but like I said I have heard it really works. I dont really see what you have to loose as he is barking already and too much from the sound of things.

Opps forgot one thing. If you can :maybe first go to the neighbors and explain that you know you have this barking problem with the dog and that you are sorry and concerned that the dog may be interupting their privacy. Let them know you are either going to try to resolve it yourself or get a trainer ( whatever you decide ). You might tell them that they may hear the dog barking when you are there but you are trying to condition the dog and you wont train after 8 pm or early in the morning etc. Ask them if they can keep an ear out for when you are not home so they can tell you if it is working or not. Involving the neighbors in the problem and letting them know you are concerned and trying to resolve it will make you neighbors feel more empowered and less helpless in the barking issue and you might find a couple are really willing to help out.

Theres something fundamentally missing from this. The delight of pursuing a 'bark' or 'speak' command, once acheived, must then be followed up with training the 'quiet' command. Teaching them to speak is half the job, the important bit is asking for quiet! Once you have established a 'speak' command, then shift your clicker/reward training to 'quiet'. Ask for the bark, she barks. When she stops say 'quiet' and reward. After a few days (short training sessions) move the quiet command to when she is actually barking, if she stops, reward. If she doesnt, persist in waiting until she stops of her own accord, then command quiet and reward for a few more days. She will twig eventually and you have that lovely command 'quiet' off to a fine art!

Hi
I will intro myself in a minute. I have a 1 year-old aussie (whew)which is why I pursue the tricks. She is also a barker and in my attempts to reward barking cessation on cue....she barks on purpose...so i will give the cue ...then she seeks the reward....and runs back to the door to start again. OUTWITTED by a baby.

One of our dogs is a very vocal girl, she loves to bark and generally make sounds (groan growl whimper yip etc, it is self rewarding - so the teaching her the speak and quiet, then withholding praise for speak command, did not work - She like the sound of her own voice too much - LOL :dogbiggrin. She does have some separation anxiety too (and can bark to try to get me to come back sometimes).

We tried an ultrasonic collar (didn't work). I wasn't keen to try a citronella or shock collar, so have not tried those. For short periods when I am around a husher http://www.husher.com.au/ reduces the barking (but I would not feel comfortable leaving this one on if I am not around, or for extended periods). We don't have a solution yet, but have made some improvements.

Does your dog just, or mainly bark when you are not there? Is there reason why it is barking (in response to a sound). If this is the case, placing the dog in a room with a bit of background noise like a radio or TV, with something to keep it occupied (like a kong) while you are out, may help.

Basically what I do now, is a little verbal reprimand (Delta that'll do, or "what do you think you are doing! in a serious voice), if she if barks more than twice, but give her a lot of praise if she is quiet in a situation that is challenging for her (Good Girl, Delta, Good quiet). She still has bad days (tends to be worse if she doesn't get exercised), but is not as bad as she used to be.

first koda is very talkitive but
my pup has learnt to bark in the morning so she could have breakfast (not the best thing to have accindently taught her she does this at about 5.30am)
but now with training her that barking is not what gets you food shes getting quiter

what i do is get both dogs food ready and go outside with it, feed storm (as he just sits by his bowl and he always the first to get feed first pack rules)
then stand close to her kennel but ignore her yapping and all i usually look over at the nearby hills not looking down or near her till shes quiet, and praise her for being quiet, let her out of her run and put her food in there and lock it back up shes learnt she can open the door if its not locked,
i go stand somewhere in yard and call koda over (can take a few times as she can smell her food) but once she realizes that by coming to me, going toilet and sitting by her run quietly shes aloud in to eat (only about 1 or 2 minute

but today is the second day ive put in the training and shes learnt very fast the repition is she has three meals a day and usually a bone

I would think one of the best method I've had work with my pit mix (SUPER barker) is to take her out running beside my bike before I leave--
when we get home, she has just enough time to settle in, get a drink of water, and go in her crate.
Then, she's so tired from running that she sleeps while I'm gone, instead of worrying where I am and when I'm coming back.
Honestly, I think she's glad to see the back of me!

OH, and I forgot to mention, that, after lots and lots of repeating this process, now Daystar is just in the habit of going in her crate and taking a snooze when I leave... she really only barks at the doorbell now, and that's becoming more controllable as she is getting older.

with my previous Scotty, my Vet recommended the citronella collar, it was just out in the market and costed 300$ at the time. I got one right away, used it for 3 days and returned it to the Vet. Not only they get used to the smell of citronella, but I was upset when my dog sneezed and had a nice spray of citronella on her nose, I figured the poor pooch will think that sneezing is a bad thing.
Melissa is right in saying to take a long walk so that the dog is tired while you are gone, another thing is to keep the TV or radio on, keep chew toys near by. Instead of having uncomfortable encouters with your neighbour, why not talk to them in involving them, that way they see that you are trying hard to find a solution. For instance, you can tell them that this week you are trying a new method, and for them to report to you if there is an improvement. In my case dealing with my neighbour this way reduced the tension between us. Good luck